INTRODUCTION

The teacher plays a great role in the learner’s growth, it also affects the
learner’s behaviour and even perception in life aside from improving the
learner’s intellectual capability. The teacher is the learner’s parent at school,
responsible for the learning of the learner as well as imposing discipline in
class. The teacher is one of the architect of his learners, he designs, plans and
guide them to be a better person, and the teacher makes or breaks a learner.
Since the learner imitates or do the same thing as what the teacher do the
teacher should always be at his best behaviour inside or outside the school
premises.

The teacher have a lot of responsibility as a teacher and there are limits on
these responsibility, for example the teacher should impose discipline the
learner’s but the teacher cannot inflict corporal punishment against his students.
The teacher should also be responsible for his words, he can teach morals about
life but he can’t discriminate his students. The teacher should always show love
and care to the learner’s but the teacher cannot have an intimate relationship
with the learner. This limits are made to prevent destroying the learner’s life or
for having a traumatizing experiences in their life.

In the Philippines, the Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers states in

eleven articles, the dos and don’ts of a teacher, their responsibilities and their
limitations. The last two articles state the disciplinary actions for the violation
of the code of ethics and its effectivity.
 THE CASE ITSELF

ZAMBOANGA CITY: A public school teacher accused of hitting a 17-

year-old student in the head has apologized to the teenager's family after
the victim's mother complained to the school.

The mother said a representative from the guidance counsellor's office of

the Zamboanga City High School Main Campus was present during the
meeting where the teacher apologized.

"The teacher has apologized and even signed a note saying it won't
happen again," she told The Manila Times.

The Times has phoned and tried to get a comment or reaction from the
school's principal Luchie Rimando on Monday, December 5, but a
school clerk said she was in a separate meeting.

The clerk quoted Rimando as saying the case is settled between the
teenager's family and the teacher and that a report was submitted to the
Department of Education's Schools Division Office under Roy Tuballa.

The same clerk also quoted guidance counsellor Ryan Japon as saying
"the case is closed" following the recent meeting between the victim's
mother and the teacher.

Telephone calls made to the Department of Education's Schools

Division Office were all left unanswered. It was unclear why the
Zamboanga City High School main campus or the Department of
Education here failed to sanction or penalize the teacher for his action.

The student said he was hit in the head by his teacher after asking
permission to go home due to a recurring pain in his stomach. The
victim said without any warning, the teacher suddenly hit him in the
head in front of his classmates and another teacher who was inside the
classroom.
 SUMMARY

The incident occurred on November 22 inside the Zamboanga City

High School main campus. The student asked permission to the teacher
to go home early because his stomach was aching. Then suddenly the
teacher hits him in the head in front of his classmates. The student was
traumatized by his action so he left the classroom.

The victim's mother condemned the physical abuse his son suffered in
the hands of his teacher.

"Teachers are not supposed to inflict pain or hurt their students. This is
totally wrong," she said.

The teacher apologized to the parent and promised not to do it again.

 CONCLUSION
This case violate Article VIII: The Teacher and Learners, Section 8 of the Philippine Code
of Ethics for Professional Teachers which state that “A teacher shall not inflict corporal punishment
on offending learners …” The teacher may meant to hit the student though it does not cause wound
to the student. It was not proper to hit the students when they when he properly asked permission.
This was not maybe serious but this will stay in the memories the learner. Some other students
could make fun of the kid.

This was also a bad example for her students, it teaches them to deal with people who annoy
them to just hurt them. The Article XI: The Teacher as a Person, Section 2 states that “A teacher
shall maintain at all times a dignified personality which could serve as a model worthy of emulation
by learners, peers and others.” The teacher did not serve as a model on how to deal with things or
people who annoys you. The teacher showed a weakness that could soon be her student’s weakness
in the future because they might deal with things like they saw her deal with them. Article XI: The
teacher as a Person, Section 1 “A teacher shall place a premium upon self-discipline as the primary
principle of personal behaviour in all relationships with others in all situations.” There was no self-
discipline in the situation, being a teacher means you have to deal with a lot of annoyance and you
have to possess extra-long patience for the students.

As for the heads, Mr. Monisit and Mr. Borgonia, they have done a great job for investigating
the situation as early as possible. And for including this situation for their executive conference to
serve as a lesson to other teacher.

Being a teacher means you have to accept this challenge of disciplining kids without
inflicting pain in the physically or emotionally. A teacher should always know how to deal with her
emotions, and should always hold back even if you’re students go out of hand. Hurting them
doesn’t do any good for them, they might just be traumatize or even be rude to all teachers for
having one bad experience. As a teacher you are responsible not only for your action but for your
students future. You have to lead them to a brighter future.
 SUGGESTION
This case doesn’t need much of a suggestion because the school administrator
handled it well, they have investigated the situation and gave assistance to the family.
For the teacher, she should have been aware of the consequences of her action and
where could they lead her to. It would serve a lesson for her and for other teachers.
Our behaviour should always be right in front of the students.

My suggestion is for the future teachers. Being a teacher is not an easy job, you
have to make sure that before choosing this profession you have a long patience and
you can deal with different kinds of students without losing your temper. You should
always think that every single action you do can gravely affect the child’s life. You
are not just responsible for the 123s and ABCs but also for their behaviour and
emotional stability. Being a teacher doesn’t need a wide intellectual understanding
but also being able to handle extreme emotions.

You should always be careful of your actions to your student, you can’t hurt
them and the law protects them from that. You should always think before you act,
you can’t lose yourself in front of these kids. You can’t show your weakness. Some
day they will make fun of you when you cry or even walk out of that door. Tell that
to your next students, those students can’t look up to you anymore. They can
remember you for that but you should always bear in mind that if you want your
student to remember you it must be something good.

Submitted by:
MARGIE L. GUMAHOB